Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- World champion Sebastian Vettel won
the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to tie Michael Schumacher’s record of
seven straight race victories in a Formula One season.

Yesterday’s win emphasized Vettel’s dominance a week after
he sealed his fourth straight drivers’ title. His Red Bull
teammate Mark Webber was second in the 55-lap day-night race at
the Yas Marina circuit, with Nico Rosberg of Mercedes third.

“I remember when I was a small kid watching F-1 and
Michael was with Ferrari and dominating F-1 and had a very
strong car, and strong team spirit for many years,” Vettel, 26,
told reporters. “To equal some of the stuff he managed to
achieve is very special, not just for me but the whole team.”

Vettel’s 11th win in 17 Grands Prix this season tied his
tally from his second championship-winning season in 2011. With
races in the U.S. and Brazil remaining, Vettel is on target to
match Schumacher’s record of 13 victories in a single season set
in 2004, when he also won seven in a row.

Vettel, starting second on the grid yesterday, went past
pole-sitter Webber and never looked like surrendering the lead,
finishing more than 30 seconds ahead of his teammate.

Rosberg also got past Webber at the start before the
Australian fought back to claim second spot.

Kimi Raikkonen lost ground on Alonso in the chase to finish
runner-up in the world championship. The Lotus driver started
last after being disqualified in qualifying and exited the race
in the first lap with a broken suspension.

‘Massive Gaps’

Vettel marked his victory by performing “donut” spins,
after being fined for a similar celebration at the last race in
India. He said he hoped he wouldn’t be penalized this time.

“This time I bought the car back, so it’s fine,” said
Vettel. “The car was absolutely brilliant. I was flying at some
stages, at least it felt like it. Massive gaps, a big
surprise.”

Vettel has 347 points atop the standings ahead of Alonso
with 217 and Raikkonen on 183.

Red Bull, which already clinched the constructors’ event
for a fourth straight year, moved to 513 points. Mercedes has
334 and Ferrari 323.

Vettel last week became the youngest driver to win four
straight drivers’ titles, a feat achieved previously by his
fellow German Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio of Argentina.

The next event, the 18th on the 19-race calendar, is the
U.S. Grand Prix at Austin on Nov. 17.